


A Different Three-Fold Man

by TKelParis



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Awesome Donna Noble, Donna is Donna, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-12
Updated: 2017-08-07
Packaged: 2018-10-17 22:22:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10603470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TKelParis/pseuds/TKelParis
Summary: Not even Caan could see every possibility. The Hand was far more aware than anyone gave it credit for, and it transformed itself into something different. Now Donna Noble and the Doctor have their work cut out for them.





	1. Chapter One: Double Vision

**Author's Note:**

> Dedication: tardis-mole. This was provoked by “Another Fine Mess.” You'll have to read it all the way through to have any clue why. And yes, I beta read that story, so in a tiny way I'm tooting my own horn in addition to TM's. ;D And thank you, my friend, for the chapter titles! :D  
> Disclaimer: Rose Tyler wouldn't have been anywhere near Series 4, and therefore this probably couldn't have happened, had I anything to do with owning these characters. I've lost all respect for the character, I freely admit it. Which means I've lost some respect for her creator. Shame, since he also created characters that I adore.  
> Author's Note: A new entry for the Alternate Handy Fanfiction Challenge. Nope, we haven't mined this one to death. Not at all! :D And there are still other possibilities! :D

Donna felt the energy within the Hand touch her mind. It gave her a massive headache as it seemed to consume her, but then, after who know how long, she felt the energy withdraw - forcing her body away violently. She gasped in shock as she found control of her limbs again, and looked to where the hand was lying.

 

Golden energy was making it grow. It vibrated wildly and then exploded like the Doctor had not long ago. Donna shielded her eyes against the brightness, which suddenly seemed to have two sources, before it faded enough that she could uncover her eyes. They widened as she saw two humanoid shapes forming, one with a sharper outline and the other with a softer one. The glowing faded as they sat up as one, staring at her and-

 

Donna's mouth dropped. The one on the left looked almost exactly like the Doctor, which some part of her mind was somehow expecting, but the other...looked almost exactly like her! Only one thing could come out of her mouth, as dazed as she was: “You're both naked!”

 

The two people only then seemed to notice each other, and hopped in their sitting positions. “Oh!” They seemed startled, and a little shocked. Although they would've kept staring in surprise – except the Duplicate Doctor noticed the flames. “Oh,” he cried out, “the Crucible!”

 

Donna's distracted mind still noticed something odd about his accent. It didn't sound like the Doctor's.

 

The Duplicate Donna turned toward the Controls, being closer, and crawled quickly over to press a blue button. “There,” she called out triumphantly, “the Doctor's favourite button!”

 

Another accent that didn't sound like the original person's! Donna watched as the TARDIS engines kicked in, and the flames died out. She could hear the repair systems start working again. She wasn't going to die! But what about the Doctor?! What was happening to him, Jack and Rose?

 

Her attention was distracted by the two manic naked people rushing around the Controls, checking settings and seemingly communicating without talking. Or looking at each other – except in occasional exasperation. As though one had just somehow said something utterly daft. Donna felt completely weird about the situation...and a bit freaked out. Did that...Duplicate Doctor...look _exactly_ like him? If they all survived this, things could get very awkward between her and the Doctor; the body she saw was actually **much** better looking out of those suits and pinstripes.

 

That was not a good thing to realize. She already kept enough things from the Doctor. This would be one more, and even more critical, to be kept from him. She wasn't sure about how mentally stable Rose was, given how she'd begged the Doctor to not regenerate – even though that was the only thing that would save his life. The girl seemed awfully jealous when the Doctor had hugged her, and very single-minded on getting back to him in that parallel world. Secrets she could handle. She'd kept a big one from the Doctor all this time already.

 

At least she prayed she had. Given that he was a touch telepath, who knew what he'd sensed – even by accident – when he opened her mind to hear the Ood song or when she snogged him to save his life? The last thing she wanted to be seen as was another Martha to him. Of course, that Martian was such a bloke about feelings that he might've mistaken anything he did detect for a more platonic nature. She could hope.

 

Although Donna would rather be a Martha than a Rose. Especially after seeing how possessive Rose had been about the Doctor in that parallel world. Could what that girl did to the TARDIS be called murder? Or rape? Or both?

 

If the Doctor's sudden and brief dark look upon hearing that detail was anything to go by, perhaps. He had seemed a bit conflicted about Rose coming back after that. Donna wondered just what had happened to reset things back to their rightful place. Her memories – fuzzy as they were – stopped with that dreadful machine being activated.

 

But – and this was a more pressing concern – she wasn't sure how she felt about someone who looked like that daft Spaceman knowing what she looked like naked. Not that this one seemed to pay attention to that. If anything, they were studiously not looking at each other – although neither seemed freaked about their respective lack of clothing.

 

Donna, however, was. “Oi!”

 

Her Duplicate looked up and held up a hand. “Sh-sh-sh!” She approached quickly. “We have to be quiet! We pulled away from that death trap, but the Daleks might still detect us!”

 

Donna blinked, still thrown by the accent difference. She sounded like she was from Surry or West Sussex! Although she also noticed that the two looked a lot younger than she and the Doctor did. In fact, they looked like bloody kids! Donna knew she hadn't looked that young since her early teens. Or been that short. And on second look, the Doctor's Duplicate's hair was sticking up even more, he was actually shorter than her Duplicate by an inch, and his face looked equally untouched by stress. Or fuzz requiring a razor. Or acne. Although he had every one of the Doctor's facial freckles.

 

Which meant... She blushed.

 

“So,” the Duplicate Doctor added, also whispering and joining the Duplicate Donna in coming over to Donna, “we're running on silent. Like those old submarines when you can't drop a spanner.”

 

Donna pursed her lips. “Okay,” she whispered back, still trying to figure out what sounded so familiar about each of them while her eyes played ping pong, “but could you each please get dressed?! And what are you two?! Time Lords must be absolutely bonkers if they cut off a limb and grow a new person from it! Or people!”

 

Her Duplicate quietly laughed. “No, we're something unique. A complicated event in Space-Time, if you please.”

 

The Duplicate Doctor nodded. “When the Hand that we were was cut off, the Doctor was still in his regeneration cycle. So there was energy trapped in us, unable to resolve itself into normalcy-”

 

“But then,” the Duplicate Donna interjected quietly, “you touched the jar and wham!”

 

Donna jerked backwards slightly, flinching over their insane excitement at their explanation.

 

The Duplicate Doctor continued with restrained energy. “We had all the DNA we needed to become a full person!”

 

“But,” Donna began, forcing the words out of her shocked mouth, “there's one of the Doctor and one of me.” Then it dawned on her. “Oh, my God! Your accents are flipped! How?”

 

Her Duplicate's smile faded, as did the Doctor's Duplicate's, as she touched Donna's shoulder. “For one moment while we – as the Hand – were connected to you because of the regenerative energy, a possible future flashed before us. The Hand only turned into him, leaving a lot of energy inside you. Davros later zapped you-”

 

“Activating that energy into a Time Lord consciousness inside your mind.” The Duplicate Doctor's sad look turned a bit proud. “Oh, you would've been so beyond magnificent, it would've been breathtaking! But it would've meant you would've either died or the Doctor would have to lock away all your memories of him because he couldn't let you die.”

 

Donna gasped in horror. “But that is a death!”

 

The Duplicate Doctor put a hand on her shoulder. “We know. We couldn't let either of those things happen. So we drew that energy out of you-”

 

“-and that copied a much greater amount of your DNA into us, which made things really confusing for a while. Until we somehow split apart!”

 

“Making the two people you see before you.” The Duplicate Doctor flinched, touching his chest. “Although this weird version of cellular mitosis – twin creation – explains perfectly why our accents switched and why we each only have one heart despite all of the Time Lord DNA.” He grimaced, but had enough wisdom to keep from whining. Not with two Donna Nobles there; he could be slapped on both sides.

 

The Duplicate Donna frowned, a hand over where the other heart would've been. She sighed. “Well, it's worth it. We saved Mum, didn't we?”

 

Donna's eyes – which she was struggling to keep at eye level with either of them – felt like they were threatening to expand into cartoon-like balloons. “What?!”

 

“Sh-sh-sh!” The Duplicate Doctor held a hand up. “Yes. We're each half-human, half-Time Lord. We were all meant for this to happen, Mum. My sister and I just couldn't let anything happen to our mother.” He smiled like a little boy then, offering his mother flowers he'd randomly plucked from a field on the way home from school, and his sister gave her own version of the smile.

 

All her life, Donna Noble had wanted a child to look at her like that. To see her as the most important person in their life. (With the possible exception of said child's daddy in their eyes.) And now two people were looking at her like that. Donna knew she hadn't looked at her own mother with that kind of love since she was a little schoolgirl. Her eyes felt watery. “Is that,” she asked her Duplicate, “why you sound like the Doctor and he” she pointed at his Duplicate “sounds like me?”

 

She'd had the question answered already, but the shock made her need a few things repeated.

 

The two nodded. “A little mix-up,” they said as one. “But we can live with it.”

 

She focused on the one part that sounded the most absurd. “You're not saying this was destiny, are you? I'm nothing special!”

 

Her daughter took her hands. “No, Mum. Let us explain. Meeting Dad that first time was a fixed event. You were meant to save his life just as he was meant to save Earth from the Racnoss. Your paths were destined to cross again. Timing was the only questionable point, but it had to happen for other important events to happen.”

 

Donna shook her head, unable to believe what she was hearing. Her son took up the mantle. “All those things people have said about you over the years, you took it as truth. But it wouldn't have hurt if part of you knew that you weren't what they said you were. Look at what you've done as his companion! No one else managed even half that! You're the greatest of all time!”

 

Despite all of the ingrained doubts, the instincts developed in response to her mother's nagging, Donna wept. “Bless, you two really think that.”

 

Her daughter beamed. “We know it, Mum. You are the Most Important Woman in the Whole of Creation, and we're going to make sure you believe it even to a little extent.”

 

They each threw an arm around her, wrapping her into a group hug as they nuzzled against her shoulders.

 

Donna tried to blink away her building tears as her arms slowly and instinctively wrapped around them. I'm a mother. The thought ran through her mind once again, sinking in this time. She had made two people, and they looked up to her. **I'm a** _ **mother**_ **.**

 

The floodgates opened. She clutched them against her, letting her face become wet. The Doctor might have unknowingly and unintentionally made her a mother, but that made it no less precious than if she'd carried them and birthed them and raised them to this point. Her chest felt like it had somehow grown on the inside, as big as the universe now. This was the most priceless gift that daft Spaceman had ever given her, and she planned to hold on with everything she had. To help him be a dad to them, to heal a bit from all the pain of losing his people and his last family. He had a new one now, and she would be a help to him.

 

As his friend, of course. It was foolish to hope to be more than his children's mother to him. She had to suppress the regrets that she was a mother without getting to make love to create her children.

 

Then the realities of their immediate situation hit her again and she cleared her throat. “Right!” She pulled out of the hug, ignoring the matching pouts. “This is the happiest I've ever been, don't get me wrong, but we have your dad to save, not to mention the universe. And I can't stand it any longer. Put on some clothes **now**!”

 

They blinked, and glanced at each other. “Oh,” the Duplicate Donna observed. “Right. You know what your son looks like naked before you've seen his father – even if he's even skinnier than his old man. Yep, that's awkward.” She rushed off toward Donna's room, where there'd be clothes that would fit.

 

She hoped. She was shorter, after all. That was annoying, the prospect of having to wait for a growth spurt or two to be as tall as Mum.

 

The Duplicate Doctor looked at his mother. “Yeah, that's a shame. You have two kids and you didn't even get to have sex.”

 

Donna gaped. A hand pulled away from her side, but he dodged the potential slap – with a huge manic grin – by rushing to find the right storage bin for spare clothes. She dropped into the Jump Seat, her face trying to match her hair. Oh, God, she thought, if they somehow know how I feel about their father... Oh, please don't let him find out! It'll be embarrassing enough when he knows I know what he looks like starkers! Especially if Rose finds out; she'll be furious.

 

She paled as she remembered the stories she'd heard about Jack and the Boe-Kind. In fact, best to try to not let the Doctor find out until everyone else was gone. Or at least distracted, just in case Rose stayed.

 

Donna had lost all track of time in her rambling thoughts when she heard her son wandering around again. He was buttoning up a jacket matching the blue trousers he'd found. It looked like a suit she'd seen the Doctor wear about half the time, although it was the without-a-tie look. She frowned as she also noticed how the baggy clothing and bare feet heightened how young the boy looked. He was struggling to not trip over the too-long trouser legs, his father's manic energy brimming over as he also tried to push up the jacket sleeves.

 

Come to think of it, the Doctor often reminded her of a teenager. How **was** she going to handle having three to deal with?!

 

“There!” He was satisfied with what he saw as he inspected the ship. “Repairs largely done. A few things will need more time, but the Old Girl knows they have to wait.”

 

“And now,” the girl quietly called out, rushing into the room with one hand closed around something and the other holding a belt, “we can save Creation!”

 

Donna looked over and blinked. She immediately recognized the entire outfit from the pink top down to the trousers. She last wore it when she and the Doctor landed in 1926, before she changed into the flapper outfit. She was suddenly unsure whether it looked better on her own almost forty years-old body or her daughter's seemingly fourteen years-old body. If you adjusted it to fit the girl's flatter chest.

 

And the girl was equally barefoot. Oh, right, Donna realized numbly, her feet would be too small for my shoes. Same must go for my son and his father's shoes. Although why were her feet clearly sticking out?

 

The Duplicate Doctor looked up, and grinned. “Safety pins!”

 

That answered her question. Donna watched as her daughter quickly helped him roll the sleeves so his hands were free, and swiftly used three pins to keep each roll in place. Her son was awkwardly putting on the belt with one hand, grimacing. Donna recognized it as the smallest one she brought on board. She usually could only use the last notch. Her poor son needed it to keep the trousers at his waist. As soon as his sleeves were done, he swiftly finished attaching the belt while his sister rolled the legs up enough. Then he pinned one leg, she the other.

 

The whole time, neither said a word. Yet their actions were coordinated. Were they talking to each other through their minds? Like the Doctor had said that his people could? Did that mean he wasn't alone anymore, that he could have those empty spaces he once spoke of filled a bit once again?

 

Except when her children rushed to look at the controls, watching some of the readings they saw, Donna reminded herself that she had to put all her personal concerns aside. The realities of sudden motherhood could wait. Worries about what the Doctor's reaction might be could wait. Concerns over Rose Tyler's behavior here and in that parallel world could even wait. If they didn't find a way to stop the Daleks and whatever they wanted all of the planets for, none of it would matter.

 

No, she told herself, standing to join them. We will find a way. If this miracle could happen, then the universe can be saved! And so this Earthgirl would be as much of a help as she could.


	2. Twice the Work

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As with my other story, sorry for the delay in adding more.
> 
> And this story is NOT for Rose fans. If I didn't state that enough in the first chapter, let me say it one last time.

The Doctor knew his pleas were useless, and he couldn't meet the gazes of any of the Children of Time. They didn't understand his shame, his horror, his realizations. It was all too late. The Daleks would destroy everything, then kill his companions one by one (except for Jack – he'd keep coming back and they'd keep killing him), and then...keep him as something less than a pet. Drive him insane by forcing him to confront every one of his mistakes and crimes at once. Destroy what was left of the universe after the Reality Bomb with a paradox.

 

And he would be left cursing Rose Tyler for using the Dimension Cannon. Which a part of his dusty, overwhelmed mind was already doing. It had to have contributed to weakening the walls between not just the universes, but the important ones between the Time Lock and the rest of Reality. And then there was the last time Rose met Caan. Had her actions under the influence of the Vortex energy – with the power trip she was so clearly on from it – contributed to today?

 

Who knew what would keep happening to Jack, though. He might wind up witnessing the Doctor's mental slide into a point of no return. Bad enough the Daleks would see it. A friend was worse, especially one who you had to keep a lot of secrets from.

 

But then a sound burst into the countdown. A sound the Doctor thought he'd never hear again. The TARDIS! Appearing like an angel of mercy! But... His mind churned. How had Donna flown away?! He knew she'd learned the piloting mechanics well, but he wasn't sure he'd taught her enough to escape. And what did she think she was doing?!

 

The doors opened, and out came the biggest shock of the Doctor's life. Himself, in a blue suit! And right behind him- Wait, when had Donna ever changed clothes in the midst of a crisis?! Had her clothes been singed so much that she changed into the outfit she wore when they had arrived in 1926? And when did she **ever** go barefoot if she wasn't about to go to her room for sleep?!

 

His Duplicate – had to be from his spare hand, he realized, but how did the hand grow into him? – rushed forward, carrying something that looked alarmingly like a gun. Behind him, Donna looked to the side and rushed toward a set of controls.

 

Davros shouted and raised his arm toward Donna, but the Duplicate raised his weapon – drawing the Dalek creator's fire instead. He dropped his weapon, and was quickly encased in one of the fields, flinching over the shock and pain. “Stop the female!” Davros cried as Donna vanished behind the controls.

 

Several Daleks moved toward the controls, but suddenly stopped. Then the countdown halted as something massive clicked. Then the Doctor watched as Donna stood up, smirking. “Aaaand, closing all Z-Neutrino relay loops with an internalised synchronous back-feed reversal loop. That button there! And you Daleks can't move because I created a macro-transmission of a K-filter wavelength blocking Dalek weaponry in a self-replicating energy blindfold matrix.”

 

The Duplicate laughed delightedly. “Too late, Davros! We've stopped you!”

 

The Doctor and the rest of the Children of Time watched in shock. They noticed that the Reality Bomb had been stopped. It was impossible to ignore the shouting of the Daleks up above and especially of the Supreme Dalek.

 

Davros shouted in dismay, “You will suffer for this!” He raised his arm again, but the bolt he was preparing ran up his own arm instead, forcing a scream out.

 

“Sorry,” Donna said, not sounding it at all, “My-bad. Bioelectric dampening field with a retrogressive arc inversion. Simple stuff! Easy-peasey pudding and pie!” She hit something else and the force fields vanished. “There, that's the rest of you free now!”

 

The Duplicate rushed over to help her with the controls. “Time to send those planets home!”

 

The Doctor was pulled out of his stupor, stepping forward a bit. “Wait! Donna, how can you know all of this? You can't even change a plug.”

 

“Oi!”

 

The shout came from the TARDIS. All heads with mouths turned and saw Donna Noble, in the same clothes as she had been wearing before their capture, standing in the TARDIS doorway with her arms folded under her chest and glaring at the Doctor. His eyes were the widest of the bunch, and his jaw tried to slam against his chest. “But, but, but, but-”

 

“Listen, Spaceman!” Donna's eyes held a fire that she'd only held a few times in her life, always with cause. “Just because I say something about myself it don't mean you have the right to repeat it! Leave that junk to my mother!”

 

“And Gran,” the Duplicate retorted, helping the other Donna flip levers, making the Daleks spin without their permission and ignoring all of the cries of dismay, “doesn't know what a blessing she has! Dad can tell you that, Mum!”

 

Rose's eyes went wide. “'Dad?!' 'Mum?!' 'Gran?!' What are you talking about?! Who are you two?!”

 

The two by the Controls ignored her. They looked at the Doctor, noticing how he wasn't reacting much to them calling or referring to him as Dad and said as one, smirking, “You gonna stand there like a dumb skinny boy or are you going to help us turn the Daleks into spinning tops and then send the planets home, Doctor Daddy-Dad?!”

 

The Children of Time all thought their eyes would pop out. What?!

 

The simultaneous exclamation stunned the Doctor and the words shocked him almost senseless, but his feet carried him over. The universe did need to be set right. Even if he really wanted to know how these two were coming up with what they did. Which just about beat out the wish to go back to bed and start the day over. Couldn't safely go back on his own time-line, unfortunately. At least, not without a time crash. And those were bad enough with different selves; an earlier this him would be much worse. Actually, given the presence of someone who brought Reapers upon Earth through idiotic selfish desires, he had better stop that line of thought quick smart.

 

He looked at the two up close and realized they had just forced the Daleks all over the ship to spin – first one way, then the other. “How did you two think of that? That's brilliant!”

 

The two smirked, glancing at each other before looking at him pointedly. “You mean why didn't **you** think of that?” Their grins turned positively wicked.

 

Donna, the one in the clothes the others had seen earlier, sighed. Up to her to explain things to the other companions, preferably before her rascals started acting all Spacepeople. “He” she pointed at the Doctor “had a spare hand in a jar. Ghastly sight, but he swore he needed it where it was. Anyway, there was this heartbeat I was hearing, starting inside the Shadow Proclamation, and again inside the TARDIS. It kept me inside, and I was trapped. When I thought I was doomed, it seemed to call to me for help, glowing inside its jar. I didn't know what else to do, and so I touched it.”

 

“And boom!” the Duplicates cried as one. “Instant Human-Time Lord biological Meta-Crisis!”

 

The Duplicate Doctor took up the tale. “We finally had enough genetic material to become a full person, but it was a little confusing trying to balance. We had two sets of DNA, each telling us to be something different. Nearly turned us into a chimera – a person with two different sets of DNA.”

 

“So,” the Duplicate Donna picked up immediately, “to resolve all the energy, we split apart. One heart each, which is unfortunate, but viola! Two half-Human Time Lords. Each in appearance identical to one of our parents!”

 

“Parents?!” The cry came from Rose, but the thought was coming from all of the Children of Time.

 

Not that the Doctor heard Rose. Instead, he took a careful look at them and could see that they both looked much younger than he or Donna. Rassilon, they did look like teenagers! They were wearing their clothes – which were much too big for them since they were shorter – and as full of cheek as him and Donna combined. Oh, blimey, he thought as he remembered the antics he got into at that comparative age. I'm in trouble!

 

Of course, it was the same kind of trouble he would've been in had Jenny lived, but not to this extent! She was at least physically the equivalent of twenty-something. Eighteen at the youngest.

 

Donna sighed. “Half him, half me. That makes you and me, Sunshine,” she added at the Doctor, “the proud parents of two instant teenagers. Mind, they definitely have the energy of a horde of little kids with the ability of teenagers to listen to their elders.” Her eyes glanced in Rose's direction, but she said nothing else. Why draw her ire any more than she already had, just by being around the Doctor? “Which makes them unbearably like you, Doctor.”

 

The Doctor was still frozen over the thought of being a father again. With Donna. To two people that came from his own hand. With Donna! The idea was sending strange flutterings through his chest – a brand new sensation, but not an unpleasant one. **I have kids with** _ **Donna**_ **!**

 

The thought was such a squeak in his head, especially on her name, that no enemy of his would've ever again taken the Oncoming Storm seriously had it been voiced.

 

“The Doctor-Donna,” he murmured instead. “The Ood foresaw this.”

 

Donna shrugged. “Perhaps they saw our son coming. Our kids got a lucky glimpse of the future, and altered events. Means I can be this improved, more mature me still.”

 

The Doctor didn't think there was anything wrong with her, even. She just needed a chance to shine. But there was something far more concerning nagging at him. “But if you touched the Hand while it was filled with regeneration energy-”

 

“Oh, relax, Dad!” the Duplicate Donna snapped. “Our energy did touch her mind, which gave us her memories as well as yours. But we suddenly sensed that if our energy touched her mind too long-”

 

“She'd have too much of your mind in her head,” her brother interjected, “and would be at risk of burning up from too much Time Lord regenerative energy inside her. So we managed to withdraw from her mind, healing her in the process-”

 

“And which probably gave us an extra dose of her genes,” his sister finished. “Thus, how we look!”

 

It was all too much for even the Doctor to deal with. Mind, he'd deal with all that later. First to save the planets, then stop the Daleks. Or perhaps vice versa. Only then could he deal with two brand-new Time Lord teenagers, their irritated Human mother, and a bunch of confused companions – one of them extremely upset and irrationally jealous.

 

And completely unaware she was heading right back where she came from. Donna's report about that parallel world was alarming enough. Rose's lack of concern about Donna and freaking out over the twin Duplicates was an even worse omen. He'd asked Donna a slew of questions as they traveled today, trying to piece together how Rose might've crossed over.

 

The pieces he'd compiled, he thought as he helped his children send the planets home, didn't paint a good picture of Rose's actions. He knew that the machine Donna said Rose created was a result of murdering a TARDIS, something he couldn't forgive no matter the motives. He questioned whether Rose would understand that since he hadn't punished her for raping the TARDIS before.

 

He'd had a moment, he remembered as he and his children sent the planets home, where he thought about letting the Vortex energy burn her, but the persona created to control it was dangerous – especially having given Jack far too much life energy. He'd felt disappointed enough by her actions toward Mickey and Jack when they'd met, but the realization that she thought nothing of genocide – when she could've used the Vortex energy to send the Daleks somewhere where they couldn't harm anyone – to get back to him killed his love for her.

 

If she tried to say anything to him at the moment, he would've pushed her aside with a Not Now command. Fortunately, she was busy enjoying pushing the Daleks around with Martha and Sarah Jane. Donna meanwhile was keeping an eye on Davros and looking out for other trouble. And, he realized when he heard Mickey call out a warning to Davros, instructed the men to grab the weapons inside the TARDIS to make the Dalek creator think twice about trying anything.

 

The Doctor was stunned to learn that Caan was the one responsible for all the manipulated time-lines, but concealed it behind a grim manner. If he'd had more time, he would've applauded the Dalek. Only he could've left Davros inside the Time Lock, so point against him. Especially after Earth was left when the Supreme Dalek disabled the Vault controls. So he raced to prepare the TARDIS...and was struck numb when he felt the Crucible start its self-destruction.

 

He didn't need the twins to say they'd fulfilled the prophecy to know what happened. He sensed it in his mind – the thoughts of other Time Lords finally filling those empty spaces in his soul. He felt crushed as he ordered everyone inside the TARDIS, knowing that he **had** to lay down a punishment this time. He couldn't let companions or anyone else commit genocide again.

 

And he offered Davros ones last chance, wanting something good to come out of this mess. But he should've known that the Creator's mind was too twisted by the Time War. "You!" Davros raged. "Never forget! You did this. I name you, forever: Destroyer of worlds!"

 

Donna suddenly grabbed the emotionally over-burdened Doctor, dragging him toward the TARDIS. “That's your title, Reality-Hater!” she screamed.

 

“It is complete,” Caan said, motionless but absolutely at peace despite the flames and heat around him. “The threefold man at the end of everything... with the Children of Time, and now none of them will die."

 

The Doctor swallowed, unnerved. But Donna slammed the doors shut. “Get us out of here and save Earth, Spaceman!”

 

Leave it to her to remind him of what was important. He flashed her a tiny thankful smile and rushed to the controls. Worries about punishments, brand-new teenagers, and problematic companions could wait. He had to protect Earth from a slew of shrapnel.

 

 

 

 

The TARDIS was flying Earth back home. The Doctor was guiding five of his companions through guiding the Old Girl through the motions. He gave important tasks to all. Except for Rose. Hers was the least necessary, but it kept her occupied.

 

Or ought to have. He kept having to call out corrections for the others to make. She spent too much time looking at him with a smile, which he ignored by focusing completely on his tasks. He couldn't wait to have the TARDIS to himself and Donna again...

 

Donna and Jackie stood nearby, watching the action. The former periodically looked over at her children, who were monitoring something along the sides until the Doctor said they didn't have to. She worried about the Doctor's gutted look when he realized that his own children had set off the chain reaction that would kill all of the Daleks and destroy the Crucible. She remembered the Racnoss all too well, and how he regretted having to kill an entire species to protect Earth, but what else could've been done here? She didn't like the idea of killing any more than he did, but if those controls were losing power as their daughter had said they were, then there could've only been a matter of time before they lost the ability to keep the Daleks frozen. Then what?!

 

And there was the matter of Rose. She had done her best to ignore the twins, and stuck practically to the Doctor's side once he came back inside as the Crucible was going up in flames. Donna no longer saw Rose's coming back as a good thing, and she could tell that the Doctor felt the same. Truth be told, he was hiding his thoughts rather well for someone rubbish with feelings. Whatever happened next would turn into something not what Rose had clearly expected, and so Donna prepared herself to stand between her children and the woman who was – in a sense – responsible for the circumstances of their creation.

 

Meanwhile, the Duplicates stood grinning, watching the expressions of joy on the faces around them. It was an occasion! Their smiles stood in place until they felt a flicker of grimness from their father.

 

 _He's not happy with us_ , he whispered to her, making sure the words didn't reach their father. _Doesn't he realize we were running out of time to stop them?_

 

His sister shook her head. _He's confused. He knows that it's a necessary violation of galactic laws, but he worries about us being the cause. He's thinking that we might be punished if he's not careful._

 

His eyes widened. _Oh, don't tell me he's thinking of exiling us as a so-called protection!_

 

She flinched. _Knowing him, if he hasn't yet, he will soon. And I can guess where to..._

 

_Oh, no! Not Pete's World! Not under Rose's so-called care! I can see into his memories of Rose's reactions to the Reality Bomb! He knows that Rose might've helped cause some of this!_

 

_Or **did** , you mean? See how he's avoiding her gaze? He definitely suspects she's at fault._

 

_Or **at least** made it worse! So how can he think of leaving me with her?! Oh, my God! He doesn't think I'd eventually be her husband, does he?! That's disgusting! Foisting someone who wanted to be your lover on your son?!?! So what if I set off the explosions! Look at all the things she's done! All the feelings and concerns she's trampled over!_

 

 _Do you think **I** like the idea?! That daft bint was a teenager dissatisfied with her own life and boyfriend when she met him! Dad's Ninth _ self was _a ticket out of a boring existence, and did she ever show remorse for causing his death?! For drawing the energy out of the TARDIS without the Old Girl's consent?! Never mind killing the TARDIS in the parallel world! Just because time had to be reset it don't mean murdering a sentient ship is_ the answer _! We need to remind Dad of how unfit she is to look after anyone! Someone who glared when he hugged Mum out of relief when he didn't regenerate is a possessive, obsessive psycho!_

 

 _Even if we do owe our existence to her..._ His eyes narrowed over the unhappy truth. _Whatever good Rose did is completely overshadowed by her unfeeling actions. Well, we do have that bit of human spark in us. Let's use that to provoke Dad, Mum and Rose. Make Rose react immaturely, to remind Dad of what his feelings really are – that he was better off without her!_

 

She grinned. _And make Mum react so powerfully, so protectively that he won't dare think again of parting us from her! And then..._

 

His grin matched hers. _We make them admit to each other what they really feel. That'll make Rose lose any pretence to being a fit companion!_

 

Mentally shaking hands, they prepared themselves for Operation Stay-Home-and-Bond-Mum-to-Dad. Just get through the celebrations first...


	3. Chapter 3

As the hugging was dying off, with Rose still staying close to the Doctor's side, the twins decided it was time to go on the offensive. A quick mental glance to see who wanted to start, and Duplicate Donna began. “So, Dad,” she called out sharply, drawing all conversation and cheering to a halt, “when were you going to tell Mum what you're planning for us? That you're going to exile at least my brother for genocide even though it was a necessary evil?”

Donna stopped the Doctor from replying. “Wait! **Exile**?! You mean to Chiswick, right?!” She fixed her eyes on the daft Martian.

The Doctor opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He'd seen that intensity in her face before, and no good had come his way from talking any time before when she was in such a state.

The Duplicate Doctor laughed harshly. “Oh, please! That'd be better than what he's thinking of! He's thinking of bloody Pete's World!”

His mother gasped in horror. “ **Doctor**!” She marched right in front of him. “Tell me they're imagining things!”

The Doctor swallowed, once again reminded of how hard Donna could slap. “He committed genocide with her help-”

Donna rushed right in front of him. “And so did you! Remember the Empress of the Racnoss?! Her children that you drowned by draining the Thames?! What other choice did you have then?! You said yourself that the controls were going out! How much longer would we have had before we lost all ability to keep those bloody pepper pots from moving and being able to shoot us?! Tell me! And tell me what the Shadow Proclamation would've done differently? The Daleks were ripping planets out of time and space, trying to destroy all of Creation! Would that have carried the death penalty?”

The Doctor found himself feeling like he was in a tiny prison, the walls closing in around him. “Well,” he spoke in a tiny voice, “for Davros at least, yes.”

Jack cut in. “But would they have had enough time to come in? Could they have rounded all of those Daleks up? How many more lives would've been lost if those twins of yours hadn't done what they did?”

The Doctor found no answer. His ship grumbled at him in warning, starting a lecture that would've put a Jewish mother-induced guilt trip to shame.

Sarah Jane stepped forward, vaguely noting the tone of the TARDIS background humming had taken a rather dark tone. “We're not saying that it's good. I saw that the Daleks were once something else, but once any beings have killed that many people, present that much of a danger, how many chances can you afford to give them? How many do you think my planet, especially in its current state, can give?”

The Doctor cleared his throat. He tried to find the answer that would explain his feelings, but his ship hadn't let up in her sharp admonishments.

Duplicate Donna sighed. “This reminded you too much of the Time War, didn't it?”

Her father cringed.

Duplicate Doctor nodded grimly. “And there's all those things that Davros and Caan made you face. You're feeling guilty, but you can't punish yourself because there are things you know you still have to do.”

“And,” his sister added, “therefore you can't endure the punishment you feel you deserve. So we're convenient scapegoats.”

“Never mind,” Duplicate Doctor continued, tone turning as chilly as his mother's in anger, “that Rose committed genocide against the Daleks after ripping the TARDIS open **without** the Old Girl's permission. **She **got to keep traveling with you and you're thinking of exiling **me**?!”****

****The Doctor's face turned so pale his freckles looked like they were about to turn black. He felt reprimanded enough by his daughter's words. His son's took things twenty levels higher. So when he saw the flash of incandescent anger in Donna's eyes, he just waited for the inevitable. He knew he deserved it for even thinking what he had.** **

****Donna saw fury, brighter than any red giant star. Her hand flew to the Doctor's cheek, ringing louder than an alarm and moving him more than her second slap had the day they met. She knew he saw it coming, but he didn't even try to duck. It was instinctive for her, but she wasn't going to go beyond that. Once would make her point.** **

****Rose cried out in dismay, rushing to the Doctor's side. “Stop it! He doesn't deserve that!” Although, she thought, if Donna was slapping him, that meant she was angry with him, and might readily leave and take those clones she called the Doctor's children with her. Although sending them off to the parallel world didn't seem like a bad idea – they and their delusions would be away from the Doctor. Maybe he could send Donna with them. That sweet grandfather of hers might be hurt, but her mother surely wouldn't miss her.** **

****And what, she faintly wondered, was that male clone talking about? How did one ask the TARDIS for permission? A sentient machine wasn't the same as a sentient person.** **

****Donna glared at her, stopping her short. “He thought he did,” she all but growled, “and I agree.” She turned her version of the Oncoming Storm on the Doctor. “How **dare **you, Doctor?! Look at them! They're kids! They know what they've done, and aren't proud of it. Just like you! But they're your kids, Doctor! They're the only link you have left to your people, and you'd just send them away?!”****** **

********The Doctor swallowed. She was right. It felt wonderful to have someone filling those empty spaces in his mind. His resolve wavered.** ** ** **

********Searching for anything to make sure he changed his mind, she stumbled onto a painful memory, and allowed it a voice. “And may I remind you about the Library!”** ** ** **

********He blanched. Oh, no...** ** ** **

********Donna's eyes filled with tears. “You,” she loudly whispered, “haven't even thought that this would deny me what might be my **only** chance to be a mother!”** ** ** **

********He sank in his shoes. No, hadn't thought of that. So, no, he couldn't. He couldn't take away people she loved. Especially not her children. Which the Duplicates clearly were.** ** ** **

********The room was silent, trying to follow what was happening. There was an adventure that none of them knew about, and most were smart enough to not ask. Rose didn't care to ask – it didn't matter to her what the clones were to Donna. Being accidents, they could hardly mean anything to the Doctor, after all.** ** ** **

********Pulling herself together as she saw his pain, Donna took a deep breath. “Feel any better, Spaceman? Had enough punishment?”** ** ** **

********The Doctor looked into his soul as far as he dared under the circumstances. Nothing had changed, which drove his mood even further down. Or was that from the need to step away from Rose's touch?** ** ** **

********The twins sighed and shook their heads. “Nothing?” they asked. “Not a bit?”** ** ** **

********Rose shook her head, puzzled as she followed the Doctor's steps. “But what has he done that he needs to regret? What do they have to do with anything now that the universe is safe?”** ** ** **

********The Doctor's expression became pained as he looked at her in disbelief. It brought back awful memories, and made him wonder if he'd misjudged Rose's good qualities. Did she really see him as a perfect man, despite the evidence that he was an alien with some decidedly non-human traits? Especially when she seemed to want him to live as a human? And just dismissing his children's existence?!** ** ** **

********She wasn't fit to watch over herself, he realized, let alone two half-Time Lords. His efforts to improve her thinking had been for naught. Ten years in Pete's World, and she hadn't let go. His hearts felt instantly heavy, feeling his failure to encourage her toward true good.** ** ** **

********Donna gaped at her, not believing that the companion he'd acted so lost without was such an idiot. Was she deaf or something?! She glanced at him, relieved to see that he was horrified with himself.** ** ** **

********The twins glared at Rose. The only good thing out of her comments, they thought at each other, was that their father had clearly abandoned his plans.** ** ** **

********Rose blinked over the Doctor's unhappy expression. “What's wrong?” What reason did he have to be so unhappy now? Earth was restored, and she was back! What else could there be to do?** ** ** **

********Donna shook her head. How oblivious to other's feelings – especially those of the person you claimed to love – could someone be?! “I saw him commit genocide to save Earth the day I met him. An old enemy – a menace, I think he called the Racnoss – who would've killed everything on Earth. He had to destroy a ship and its a fleet of little ones to protect Earth, nearly getting himself killed in the process. He's shown biased thinking that I've had to slap him out of – physically or verbally or even both. He's basically a bloke in alien form. No one is perfect, and he really needs someone to keep him from getting too big for his boots, to keep him from sinking into reckless patterns. Surely you saw some of that!” At least, Donna thought, I **hope** you did.** ** ** **

********Rose frowned. “Well, deaths happen. But he's the Doctor. The most important man in the universe. He deserves to be treated with respect.”** ** ** **

********The Doctor took a step away from Rose, horrified that she thought he didn't make mistakes. Hadn't she called him on some as Nine?!** ** ** **

********“Oi! Listen here, you daft bint!” Duplicate Donna cried, stomping over and driving Rose several steps back from unease. “My mother has seen him at his worst and best, and so you should have too. Yet you don't know how bad it is to treat someone like they can't do anything wrong?!! To flatter their ego like some idol?!”** ** ** **

********That her accent sounded more like the one that people heard from this Doctor was still a bit of a surprise to everyone's ears. But the fire seemed entirely Donna's, and it frightened Rose enough to drive her to her mother's side.** ** ** **

********Time's getting short, sister, the Duplicate Doctor cautioned. We have to try something deeper on Mum and Dad.** ** ** **

********Yes, we do. They were safe from exile, thanks to Rose's comments and their mother's outburst. Now to make the Doctor and Donna face a different music. “Besides, there are a lot of things my parents don't yet know.”** ** ** **

********The Doctor blinked. He had to get his companions – especially Rose and Jackie – home, but his curiosity was engaged. “Like what?”** ** ** **

********The Duplicate Doctor walked next to Donna, standing between his parents. He grinned, happy to have the chance to be the one explaining basics of a situation. “One thing about Time Lords: they can recognize a fixed event – something that must always happen – immediately, but when they have no idea what the must moments that made the fixed event possible and stable were, they can say **really** stupid things to the people around them.”** ** ** **

********“Like what?” Donna beat the others to the question, but she was wondering what point her bonkers son intended to make.** ** ** **

********He grinned wryly at his father. “Oh, like telling someone who's very special that there's nothing special about them and be a total prat.”** ** ** **

********Donna's eyes flickered to the Doctor's with a glare. Oh, was that what those words on that rooftop were about?!** ** ** **

********The Doctor blushed and stared at his shoes. Oh, did he wish those words unsaid!** ** ** **

********The Children of Time wondered what had happened, but no one had the chance to ask anything. The Duplicate Doctor was too quick to continue. “Also, they can make someone who has to be there for must moments and a few fixed points think that they're more important than they are, but that's not for here.” He glanced at Rose, and saw that she hadn't connected the dots.** ** ** **

********Big surprise, his sister groaned silently, glaring again at Rose when she opened her mouth. But she could tell the others were putting things together.** ** ** **

********Shaking his head, he faced his mother as he continued. “More to the point, my father is absolutely rubbish with expressing his feelings – as you know well, Mum. The Time Lords really were a repressed people, and that's skewed my father's thinking in many ways. You've seen proof many times over, Mum. What you don't know is that it's made him say things to you when he really meant the exact opposite.”** ** ** **

********Donna blinked, trying to put all these random pieced together. “Like what?”** ** ** **

********The Doctor worried about what his son intended to say. There were a lot of things. He could list them all. He opened his mouth to speak, but found his daughter's hand in his way. She smirked at him, shaking her head.** ** ** **

********“Oh, Mum... Remember 'I mean the Detox'?”** ** ** **

********The Children of Time had no clue what that meant, but Jack was instantly very intrigued and determined to know the story. Mickey watched the Doctor's utterly embarrassed reaction and suddenly had a new respect and empathy for the alien. Martha's eyebrows raised, suddenly wondering about some of the Doctor's reactions during the Sontaran crisis. Sarah Jane, on the other hand, had definitely connected the dots and wanted to know what would happen next.** ** ** **

********Donna's jaw dropped and her eyes fixed on the utterly embarrassed Spaceman, who rubbed his hair and neck in succession to handle the rush of nervous energy. Rose didn't like seeing him so uncomfortable over something he'd done. Unless it was a mistake that he was ashamed of. Yes, she silently breathed, that must be it.** ** ** **

********Their son was amused by his parents' reactions. “Mum, think about it. If his feelings had been what you think they are or were, then would he have been laughing and smiling with you so soon after all that had happened to him on the day you both met? No, his grief was over the lives lost in that fixed event known as the Battle of Canary Wharf. You were able to draw him out of his dark thoughts. You saved his life, which saved the universe, and enabled us to be alive.”** ** ** **

********Rose shook her head. Well, of course the Doctor was upset over the lives lost. She knew that. But she was sure his real hurt was over losing her, not what this clone was saying! She opened her mouth and got an icy look from the female clone that froze her in place.** ** ** **

********All the talk about her needing to save him from his thoughts was something Donna had known for a while. But the part about him laughing and smiling? “But he's always hiding his feelings behind a smile and a long string of words.”** ** ** **

********“Not like that.” He tapped his temple. “If it's in his head, it's in mine. So I know what he was really thinking and feeling at the time - and ever since – about you. And the truth isn't what you think it is, Mum.”** ** ** **

********Donna noticed how deep the blush on the Doctor's face turned, his eyes were wider than dinner plates. Her mouth turned into a huge circle, not sure it was a good thing or a bad thing that she would hear his real thoughts.** ** ** **

********In the back of her head, she wondered why Rose was so silent. After all, wasn't this threatening her views about the Doctor? A brief glance answered that question.** ** ** **

********Jackie, sensing that something would happen that her daughter wouldn't like, clamped a hand over Rose's mouth at the Duplicate Doctor's words and hoped her glare would be enough to persuade the ungrateful girl her daughter had turned into that it was wise to remain quiet. And she was glad that the handsome captain – oh, she was a bit sorry she had reformed and was married again since he seemed like he would've been fun to flirt with – was standing nearby and helped hold Rose back.** ** ** **

********“And not because he thinks any of those things you think about yourself,” their son stressed. “He looks at you with awe, Mum. He wishes he had even a fraction of your compassion, your ability to see those little things that have solved so many of the problems you two have faced. You don't know how much he wishes he'd yelled at your mother and all those at the reception for starting without you – especially when you'd vanished in a way that no human could've managed. How he wishes he could've punished Lance himself, giving him a fate worse than death for making you doubt yourself and cry because you felt no one would listen to you.”** ** ** **

********Rose, squirming against the hands restraining her, figured that was more of a sign of what kind of a person Donna was. How could a person be special if the people around them would do that to them?** ** ** **

********Donna wished that he wouldn't speak of that moment. But she also noticed the look in the Doctor's eyes, which told her their son was telling the truth, and that grabbed her attention. She'd been mortified when he'd been present for Lance berating her for preferring going for a packet of a new Pringles flavour than sex. She hadn't wanted to admit to Lance – let alone a strange alien – that there were things she wouldn't do without marriage, not after the lying she'd done to fit in with the friends she'd kept.** ** ** **

********Their son's smile turned soft, burdened with the sad memories he now had to speak of. He touched his mother's shoulders with every bit of affection he could. “If you only knew how it cuts Dad to his hearts to see you cry, especially when he's unintentionally caused it. How panicked he got when he thought that you wanted to go home, leaving him behind. How he wouldn't hesitate to tear things apart to get to you each time you've been taken from his sight. How his hearts lighten when you smile and laugh – to a greater degree than anyone else ever managed.”** ** ** **

********Rose tried to pull away from the grips of her mother and Jack, but the Duplicate Donna's eyes flickered her way again, stopping her short. The fire she saw drained all ability to speak or fight. It was the most terrifying look she'd ever seen. She suddenly had a flicker of comprehension about why the Doctor was known as the Oncoming Storm, even if the look seemed like something that would come from the last Doctor's eyes.** ** ** **

********But, still, that clone who wore her Doctor's face was wrong. No chance the Doctor felt any of that!** ** ** **

********Neither Donna nor the Doctor saw Rose's reaction. Nor anyone else's. Donna could only see his blushing and intense look, he could only see her shock and disbelief.** ** ** **

********The Duplicate Doctor kept his eyes on his mother. His sister told him to get to the point, before Rose recovered her ability to speak. “Yes, Mum. You've been a breath of fresh air that's made him happier than he's ever been. You've helped him start to let go of a lot of his past, and reminded him that he can sit with the quiet and not be consumed by his regrets. He never felt able to sit so before you. You have made him feel alive again, find hope in his soul. As hard as it is to live with what he's done, you make him feel that he could one day forgive himself. He had no idea he needed to have the rug pulled out from under his feet because he does fail to see important options – and things about reality. He needs it now. He doesn't want a companion who flatters his ego.” His tone made it clear that at least one such was in the room. He also knew that the one who was the worst offender wouldn't see their folly in it. “After all, he can blow his own trumpet.”** ** ** **

********Pausing as he realized what an unintentional innuendo he made, he turned to glare at the person whose thoughts made that discovery possible. His sister joined in shouting, “ **Don't** , Jack!”** ** ** **

********The Boe-Kind tried to look innocent. The other companions closed their eyes and groaned. Rose would've been more uneasy had she not remembered Jack wouldn't hug Donna.** ** ** **

********Sighing, the Duplicate Doctor turned back to his mother and continued. “You've never flattered him. You never speak anything but what you see as the truth to him, even if it might hurt him. The only time you censor your words is when he's really hurting and you want to help him with the truth. You laugh at him, make him laugh at himself, but you've never mocked him when he has some genuine complaint. Some have.” His tone again hinted strongly at who had done it. “But you, Donna Noble, have proved to be the most important companion. The Most Important Woman in the Whole of Creation, for making it possible to stop its destruction, but certainly in the Doctor's universe. Can you see that in his eyes?”** ** ** **

********She could. Her heart suddenly told her one thing, but her head – filed with all the doubts of her lifetime – told her she had to be imagining things because of the near-death of Creation. Her son, too.** ** ** **

********The Doctor's eyes were fixed on Donna's disbelieving ones. Wait, I'm not a good emotional liar. How can she doubt it when my feelings have been exposed?** ** ** **

********The Duplicate Donna took up the battle, with her eyes fixed on her father. “You see that she's having trouble believing what's in your eyes. She – like you – spent her childhood being forced into a role that she didn't want, knew in her soul wasn't for her. She was berated all her life by one who is very like her, because she was seen as a failure for not finding a career and a husband. She doesn't believe in fate and destiny, and yet she spent her life seeking it. She wanted badly to feel needed, to feel magnificent. Only when you came along, showing her a bit of the universe and saving her from danger, did she ever feel that way. She wanted so badly to accept your request to go with you.”** ** ** **

********The Doctor blinked rapidly, not quite believing his ears. “But I scared her, so she said no.”** ** ** **

********His daughter shook her head. “That wasn't the real reason. Yes, the whole thing of being shown that aliens existed and her fiancée was planning to feed her to a giant spider would've overwhelmed anyone – but she could've moved past that. She managed it over the Adipose mess and the Ood Planet, didn't she? No, that wasn't it.”** ** ** **

********Donna's eyes widened and she moved her hands frantically. Her son waved his hands to try to keep her quiet. _Hurry up_ , he shouted at his sister.** ** ** **

********Neither had to worry. Donna's throat wouldn't let her make a sound.** ** ** **

********“In the space of several hours, she'd had her heart broken, yes, and seemingly lost everything. But she gained the knowledge that she could make a difference. More importantly, she experienced something so suddenly, so powerfully that it took her breath away and left her frightened of herself. Because she felt like her heart was healing already because of you. You gave her proof that she would be fine, that she was worth something despite what Lance said about her. You saw her at her worst, her lowest, and you still saw someone worth boosting the spirits of. You even made her like Christmas for the first time in her adult life. But those things that she felt in reaction to you as a person, as a male being? That terrified her into saying no.”** ** ** **

********The Doctor's jaw dropped and he stared at his daughter in shock. She couldn't be saying what it sounded like, could she?! A glance Donna's way froze him solid, seeing the growing blush – which stopped all thought processes in his thick brain.** ** ** **

********She smiled sadly at him. “She sees herself as so far beneath you that she absolutely had to keep her feelings hidden. The suddenness of it all was another factor driving her to hide. But once she was in Egypt, she knew that she should've soldiered through and gone with you. She knew that you needed someone to stop you, and that you needed a friend who cared enough and respected you as a person enough to be honest about what they thought you were doing. So she looked for you, not daring to hope for anything more than to be that friend.”** ** ** **

********It was Jackie's turn to glare harshly at Rose to keep her silent and still. She watched her daughter's disbelieving face, and once again felt a wave of dismay as she realized how far short she'd come in parenting the girl who had been her only link to Pete for twenty years.** ** ** **

********The other Children of Time listened and watched in amazement. Donna was rising in their esteem by the moment, showing herself as capable of personal sacrifice as any of them for the Doctor's sake. But hers seemed to run deeper.** ** ** **

********The Duplicate Donna continued her tale. “Just like you use smiles and a multitude of words to hide behind, she uses her bolshy side. It allowed her to hide the disappointment she wouldn't let herself acknowledge she felt when you talked about Martha and how you messed that up.” A quiet snort from the peanut gallery reminded the room that it wasn't forgotten – even if the young physician had moved on. “She told herself it didn't matter; she was getting to be someone important, and would get to see more of the wonders that you opened her eyes to. That there were horrors to go with them didn't surprise her, but your reactions to them sometimes did. She gives you credit for being a better person than you think you are, and encourages you to challenge your own thinking because it's good for you. And you have tried to live up to her thinking, haven't you? That you listen has earned more of her respect – and made those other feelings stronger.”** ** ** **

********Donna's face wasn't trying to match her hair – it was trying to turn an even deeper shade. She'd lost her voice over hearing her most secret feelings aired in front of not just the Doctor, but in front of his companions. Especially the one who she was sure would toss her back to Chiswick because she wanted the Doctor to herself. If she could get past the twins and the TARDIS.** ** ** **

********The Doctor's eyes drifted back to Donna's face. Her blushing that much meant that something intensely personal had been exposed. He swallowed dryly at the implications.** ** ** **

********“Mum wishes you were more careful with your life,” their daughter added. “You have no idea how terrified she was when she thought you were going to die from that poison. She came up with that shock because she was **sure** that it was the last thing you would've wanted, let alone expected from her given all she'd said. You don't know how much it hurt to have been forced to forget you when she was trapped in that computer, or feeling like a fifth wheel... before then.” She cleared her throat, not wanting to go there and positive that her family agreed. “She knows she sticks her foot in it sometimes, and wishes she didn't when you really need a comforting word. She doesn't feel confident that she'll be able to tell when you need a simple 'I'm so sorry' as opposed to a reminder that you have someone who will listen. She wants you to be happy, and would gladly die for you or step aside for another if it would make a difference.”** ** ** **

********The Doctor hissed, paling completely over the thought of losing Donna. He'd been faced with the threat more times than he'd cared to admit to. Even the chance of losing her to those Roboforms the day they met had left his heart feeling wrung out – and he hadn't understood it then.** ** ** **

********In the Library, he finally did. Proof he had the worst timing. Ever.** ** ** **

********“So there she stands, Dad,” the Duplicate Donna resumed, knowing she had to drag him out of his thoughts again, “filled with the stubbornness to carry on no matter what her detractors say, but filled with the belief that no one other than her grandfather thinks she's worthy of anything good. Between her mother, the boyfriends who turned out to be no-good, the so-called friends who bring each other down, and a society that not only doesn't like gingers but also has made her convinced she's overweight, her resilience is something to marvel at. She's found a calling – something she's been seeking all her life – in traveling with you, and she wasn't about to let it slip through her fingers because of what she thinks are unrequited feelings on her part.”** ** ** **

********Donna covered her face. She couldn't bear to see the reactions of the others. Martha might understand, but the Doctor? Never mind the jealous bint being held back by her own mother and Jack. Spaceman surely couldn't want her, no matter what her son just said! At least Jackie was kind enough to cover her daughter's mouth.** ** ** **

********“And that feeling of not being worthy is so strong she doesn't believe – even after all my brother just said – you **could** love her.”** ** ** **

********The Doctor's face fell again and his eyes fixed on Donna's face. His chest felt like his hearts were trying to decide whether to sink into his stomach or lurch into his throat. The fluttering he sensed was something entirely new to him.** ** ** **

********The twins exchanged a satisfied look. The Duplicate Doctor tried to guide his mother toward his father, but she was digging her heals in, refusing to move. So the Duplicate Donna sighed and walked behind her father. “There's one thing you can say that'll start you both on a healing path. The question is, are you willing to finish what the Meta-Crisis started in your minds?” With that, she shoved him hard toward Donna.** ** ** **


End file.
